Jack Vincennes
Referenced in *L.A. Confidential History Late September 1947. Old Chief Worton called him in. Welton Morrow’s daughter Karen was running with a high school crowd experimenting with dope—they got the shit from a sax player named Les Weiskopf. Morrow was a filthy-rich lawyer, a heavy contributor to LAPD fund drives; he wanted Weiskopf leaned on—with no publicity. Jack knew Weiskopf: he sold Dilaudid, wore his hair in a jig conk, liked young gash. Worton told him a sergeantcy came with the job found Weiskopf—in bed with a fifteen-year-old redhead. The girl skedaddled; Jack pistol-whipped Weiskopf, tossed his pad, found a trunk full of goofballs and bennies. He took it with him—he figured he’d sell the shit to Mickey Cohen. Welton Morrow offered him the security man gig; Jack accepted; Karen Morrow was hustled off to boarding school. The sergeantcy came through; Mickey C. wasn’t interested in the dope—only Big H flipped his switch. Jack kept the trunk—and dipped into it for bennies to keep him juiced on all-night stakeouts. Linda, wife number two, took off with one of his snitches: a trombone player who sold maryjane on the side. Jack hit the trunk for real, mixing goofballs, bennies, scotch, taking down half the names on the down beat poll: THE MAN, jazzster’s public enemy number one. Then it was 10/24/47— He was cramped in his car, staking the Malibu Rendezvous parking lot: eyes on two “H” pushers in a Packard sedan. Near midnight: he’d been drinking scotch, he blew a reefer on the way over, the bennies he’d been swallowing weren’t catching up with the booze. A tip on a midnight buy: the “H” men and a skinny shine, seven feet tall, a real geek. The boogie showed at a quarter past twelve, walked to the Packard, palmed a package. Jack tripped getting out of the car; the geek started running; the “H” men got out with guns drawn. Jack stumbled up and drew his piece; the geek wheeled and fired; he saw two shapes closer in, tagged them as the geek's backup, squeezed off a clip. The shapes went down; the “H” men shot at the spook and at him; the spook nosedived a ’46 Studebaker. Jack ate cement, prayed the rosary. A shot ripped his shoulder; a shot grazed his legs. He crawled under the car; a shitload of tires squealed; a shitload of people screamed. An ambulance showed up; a bull dyke Sheriff’s deputy loaded him on a gurney. Sirens, a hospital bed, a doctor and the dyke whispering about the dope in his system—blood test validated. Lots of drugged sleep, a newspaper on his lap: “Three Dead in Malibu Shootout—Heroic Cop Survives.” The “H” guys escaped clean—the deaths pinned on them. The spook was dead at the scene. The shapes weren’t the geek's backup—they were Mr. and Mrs. Harold J. Scoggins, tourists from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the proud parents of Donald, seventeen, and Marsha, sixteen. The doctors kept looking at him funny; the dyke turned out to be Dot Rothstein, Kikey Teitlebaum’s cousin, known associate of the … then just a radio show. Money started rolling in; spending it on clothes and women wasn’t the kick he thought it would be. Bars and dope shakedowns were awful temptations. Terrorizing hopheads helped a little—but not enough. He decided to pay the kids back. His first check ran two hundred; he included a letter: “Anonymous Friend,” a spiel on the Scoggins tragedy. He called the bank a week later: the check had been cashed. He’d been financing his free ride ever since; L.A. Confidential While doing paperwork before the Christmas party Jack gets a call from Sid Hudgens who gives him the address of two Hollywood hopheads he can roust. Going there he busts them and takes them out for Hush Hush to photograph but not before finding a card with "Fleur-de-Lis. 24 Hours a Day. Whatever You Desire" on the premises. Going to the Dining Car, Jack and Dudley meet for the purpose of Jack being offered job as Ellis Loew's bagman as well as to see if Joan Morrow would be interests in Loew because he's looking for a wife and will need a Gentile wife to run for D.A. in '53. Taking the money he got he takes it home puts in a column for children he helped (see history). Going to the Morrow party to work security he glad-hands people, has a brief conversation with Joan Morrow and is reacquainted with Karen Morrow and asks her on a date despite their fifteen year age difference. Jack goes on double date with Ellis and Joan that goes horribly. Going to the wrap part for Badge of Honor Jack tells Karen about all the people there, among them David Mertens and Deuce Perkins, Spade Cooley's bass player. As time passes, he gets into an argument with Perkins, and through almost arresting him. gets him to snitch on his dealer. Karen and him later go home and have sex. In his '52 progress for his time in Ad Vice, Russ Millard gives him a D+, saying he's adequate but doesn't go out of his way and if he can close a case there he can be returned to Narcotics but not until then despite his political connections. Going to a briefing to discuss a case involving a high end pornography operation Jack thinks he can close it fast due one of the suspects being someone he rousted in the past. When he reaches Inge's he looks at the cars in the parking lot and finds a woman, Christine Bergeron, who's a carhop living in Hollywood. Thinking she's a prostitute he goes to investigate Inge and when he returns finds more of the smut. After the Night Owl case breaks he goes and questions someone who points him in the direction of Raymond "Sugar Ray" Coates, Leroy Fontaine, and Tyrone Jones. His partner and him arrest them. Jack thinks about how working the Night Owl case cost him a day on his smut investigation so picks up where he left off. He questions people about the Bergeron's but doesn't find out anything. When he breaks into Bobby Inge's houses and waits eventually Timmy Valburn shows up and when questioned about the smut gives a noticeable reaction but plays it off. Going to a gay bar he finds a business card for Fleur-de-Lis and despite wracking his brain can't find a connection. Going to Valburn's house he sees him and Billy Dieterling arguing and when he breaks into a car he finds a number of illegal supplies including smut. Continuing to follow his smut case, Jack questions Lamar Hinton, one of two Fleur-de-Lis delivery, the other being a guy named Chester. Hinton gives him Pierce Patchett's name and when he asks Sid about him he acts hinky, telling him to leave it. Going over to Patchett's house he sees a collection of pornographic material and when some calls he takes down an address. While leaving the house shots hit the house and when he goes to the address he was given he sees models who look like actresses inside. (25) Jack begins to push Karen away due to the case. While noticing Ed caught the shooting he makes Hinton for it. He runs DMV info but gets nothing and Dud wants him to tail Bud. (28) Jack loses Bud on his tail duty much to Dud's consternation. Instead he plans to hit up Sid (32) Jack finds Sid hacked up in a similar pose to the smut and thinks of his connection to Patchett. Taking his files to a motel he goes over them and nothing. Going to a bar he take a drink after 6 yrs being dry. Calling in a call for the murder the cops come down and the cast of Badge is questioned. Later he sees Lynn and P upset over Sid's death. Afterwards when canvassing he finds Coates' car. (35) Jack follows Lynn out with Hinton to where she's going to burn the files. He takes his, knowing Patchett has a copy, and leaves. (38) Going home to Karen he hears Coates escaped. Jack and Karen get married. (41) In 1957 interdepartmental memos say Jack has deteriorated on duty, his alcoholism not helping and that he should be pushed out as soon as possible. Jack shoots two people in a robbery gone wrong and gets in IA trouble. Over time he's gone downhill and the smut case has taken over. Afterwards he gets drunk and insults Loew at a party. (44) Jack tells Ed about his time on Ad Vice and the Sid murder and Bud White and Lynn. Jack tells him Dud told him to tail Bud so as to keep him off a hooker snuff case. (47) Jack and Ed put it together. (50) Jack brings in Lynn who Ed questions on her connection with Patchett. Jack goes out to San Berdoo and asks Mrs. Lefferts about her house and the fighting 2 weeks before the NO and find Duke Cathcart's body. (53) Jack finds out the man who took Cathcart'd identity was Dean Van Gelder, the one telling susan to get used to calling him Duke AND that he went and saw Davey Goldman, Mick's right hand man before the NO. (56) Jack questions Goldman and gets gibberish, but a clue on a bug. He goes to McNeil and finds a bug in Mickey's cell. (59) Following Ed's plan and script goes and confronts Patchett who attacks him. While he has a vest on to save him, Patchett doses him but not before Vachss and Teitelbaum kill him. (65) Drugged. Jack admits everything together. Finds out the gangland killings. connected to heroin. Dud. (67) Questioning the BOH people Jack questions Miller Stanton who told him that Patchett and Dieterling coached him into fingering Loren Atherton for the Wee Willie Wenholm murders. (71) They go and tell Mick about Goldman and find out his would be assassins are coming in on a bus and Dot provided them with weapons. (73) Jack and Bud go to head off the train with the prisoners. Jack gets killed despite having a new start w/Karen. Bud kills Deuce and gets crippled. (75) It's also revealed Dot committed suicide. Category:Characters from L.A. Confidential